The Precious Hot Chocolate Delight

Years ago, when I just moved to Bandung, a friend of mine took me to a place in Jl. Lombok, named Blend. It was a nice place just right at the corner of the street. They got cozy sofas where you could sink your body while playing Uno or congklak. Since then, the place was one of my favorite places.

But actually what I liked the most was a dessert dish named Hot Chocolate Delight. I don't have the picture, but it was more or less like this.

Well, minus the ice cream and that sick-looking strawberry on top. But it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I remember that the first time I bought, it costed me Rp 21000, which is pretty expensive for my standard at that time. I kept coming back several time, not often because I didn't have that much money, until one day I went to the place and I found that they have new design for their menu. But that was not just it, they also raised the prices.

My precious Hot Chocolate Delight was then Rp 25000. Sh*t!, I thought at that time. But I still could help myself from bought it, regardless. Then I came several times after that.

One day, I went there and they gave me a menu with new design. Oh, I had bad feeling when the waitress handed me the menu. And my feeling was right. Again, they raised the prices, though they also added some new dishes which tasted great. Hot Chocolate Delight then costed me Rp 28000. I silently cursed the manager or whoever made the brilliant decision to rise the price but still paid for it. And I still came several times after that.

I really really loved the dish. I still do, actually. But one day (after several more "new design on the menu"), I reached my limit. I think it was when the price was Rp 35000. On that day, I went in the place, looked at the menu, found that they once again increased the price, and I walked out. I didn't even bother to choose other menu. I was so pissed I thought how arrogant this restaurant they keep increasing their prices and expect that they won't lose any customer. Well, you just lost one!

So, the price went from Rp 21000 to Rp 35000 in 2 years. Okay, it was only Rp 14000, what's the big deal? Hey, it was 67% growth.

It might not only about the money, at that time I felt like someone had to show them that it was not that good (though when I think about it now, it might be that good). Maybe I was just fed up with the presumption.

I never come back to the place. Last time I passed at it, it was already closed permanently. I don't know the reason, though.

**

I do understand that price increase is inevitable, for any kind of product or service. In the end, every business always wants a greater profit. However, money is a sensitive issue and to know where is the customers's limit is one tough job to do. People will not complain when you sell your product too cheap. But they will absolutely complain or even worse leave when you sell too expensive. The big home work is to find somewhere safe in the middle where people will not complain and you get good money.

I truly don't know the reason behind my hot chocolate delight's price increase but as a customer I had bad thought that the seller was just going too greedy and wanted to get as much profit as possible by rising the price. And at that time I thought I don't want to be used like that.

I don't know if I had guessed it right or not, but it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day I had left and decided that I was not going to buy from them anymore.

It doesn't matter how noble your intention is if at the end of the day customers are leaving because you have failed to share the idea. It's a lost-lost situation between the seller and the buyer.

Now, let's say you have a good product which you honestly believe is better than other products in the market. Say, it's a toothpaste that can make the teeth glow in the dark. You think, hey glow in the dark teeth could be a cool thing in the dance floor. You genuinely believe that.

Of course, you have to add some ingredients which other products don't have to make it glow. This particular ingredient pushes your production cost above the others. In the end, to get at least as good profit as the other competitors (who really wants that anyway? Don't we want to get higher profit than the others? But let's assume that way), you have sell it with higher price.

Now you have to struggle to convince people that this special thing you have for your product is worth they money. That even though they pay you more, but they get better price per value. It's like people go to Starbucks instead of make an instant coffee (which I don't get, by the way). The price different is huuuugeeee, my friend. Yet, people go to Starbucks. Why? Because they believe that whatever Starbucks has and the instant coffee doesn't have is worth some more money.

The next question is, of course, how to be a Starbucks?

Resigning (2)

I think there are two kinds of breaking-up. One is the one when you are full of rage, devastation, disappointment, there’s nothing else to say but to shout (loudly) “WE’RE DONE!!!” (yes, with capital letters and 3 exclamations). There might be not much thought put into this kind of breaking-up, it’s more like a spontaneous act. Sometimes, spontaneous act is the best thing you’ve ever done in your life.

The second one is a calm, very comporsed breaking-up. For this one, usually you’ve already thought about it for some time. You already have the list of pros and cons. You even have prepared little speech (at least in your head). You’ve thought some different reactions and prepared some scenarios to counter it. This one usually started with “I’ve been thinking about it for some time...” before you actually drop the bomb. Yet, this one is harder than the other one.

Well, actually there’s another kind of breaking-up, it’s when you don’t care at all about the other person so you don’t find the breaking-up hard at all. However, I’m excluding this case in this discussion.

So, anyway, the second type of breaking-up. I think the reason why we prepare so much is because we actually really care about the other person. You know, somehow, that this will be hard for the other person or/and you. While you’re reading your speech, not only you are trying to convince the other person, you are also convincing yourself that the decision is the best for all.

The good scenario is that the other person agrees with you or at least accepts your argument and not (much) fighting back. He/she might even says that they’ve also thought about the same thing. In this case, you smile, give a little hug, and promise to each other that both of you will remains as friends.

The worst scenario, is when the other person not only can’t accept your argument but he is angry about it and starts to throw things to you. Let’s forget about this scenario since it is unlikely to be happen. But just in case, keep in mind to do your breaking-up in public place so someone can call the police if this scenario happens.

The not-so-good scenario is when the other person is not angry, but he/she is devastated. Remember that since you’re using the second type of breaking-up, it means that you really care about the other person, and you hate to make the other person down. It’s getting worse when the other person offering something very good, which you’ve never thought the other person would ever offer anyway, make it harder for you to convince yourself that this is the best decision, if not for all at least for you.

Sigh.

I just got into breaking-up situation type 2. Not with my bf, but with my bosses. I’m leaving the company.

And unfortunately, I was in the not-so-good scenario.

I have two bosses. My direct supervisor is an Argentinian, whom I told first. He was easier, after a quite long pause when told him that I was leaving (over the phone, since he’s not based in Jakarta), finally he said he understood the master degree reason. Yes, he said that his life would be more complicated without me around but he congratulated me for the decision and he was happy for me. So this is more like type 2 breaking up with good scenario, though there was one point when the typical breaking-up thing happened: the good memories were rushing in my mind and I could feel my heart sunk.

My other boss, is an American, who is the boss of my Argentinian boss. He is, unfortunately, a good negotiator. And he started the conversation with, “I came late because I was crying in my hotel over your decision”. Haha. He’s funny, one of the things which make me like him. I know he was joking, but still.

Then he went on questioning my reason, am i sure about this, do my parents support this, etc. After this part, came the harder one: the offerings. What if we transfer you to..., what if you we send you to... what if we let you go home earlier...

Then he went on his reasoning: opportunities I’m going to miss out.

At one point I became shaky and unsure. Am I making the right decision? Because some parts were not in the scenarios that I predicted before. Think about it for two days and we’ll talk again, he said.

So I thought about it. Over and over. If only this had happened like 2 years ago, I might have jumped into accepting the offer right away, but at this point of my life, I need to consider some other things. 2 years ago I didn’t realy think what will happen in the next following years. Geez, I miss those time.

But this is also what usually happens in every breaking-up. Am I doing the right thing? Will I ever regret this decision? Is there anything better than this in the future? Am i just being weak?

Everytime it comes to my mind, I remind myself again that there is a reason why I am now in a breaking-up situation in the first place. Go back to that fundamental reason. Is it truly important? Can I live without it? Is it the part of who I am that I can’t compromise?

Of course, for a job, the questions are slightly different. But I came to conclusion that I’m resigning anyway.

My heart broke a little. Even though there were times when I was so close to walked out the door and never came back, even though there was a period of time when I litterally crossed my calendar everyday marking each day passed, even though there were moments I felt i couldn’t handle the pressure anymore to the point I almost cry in the toilet, and I did complain frequently in my twitter about the work. So, the work is not easy and I hate it sometimes.

Despite of those facts, I am still grateful that I’ve experienced the work. I hate the fact that the work is not easy and stressful and how it deals with never ending urgency. But the work itself, I like it. I don’t believe that if you do something that you really love, it doesn’t even feel like working. Or at least, it doesn’t happen to me. For me, if it doesn’t feel like working that means it is not challenging enough. Having a not challenging work is as bad as having a very stressful one. Maybe even worse (been there!). Because at the end of the day you don’t have this satisfaction of accomplishment and you miss out moments of saying to yourself, ‘God, I am good!’. Though, if you can’t accomplish it, you will feel like a damned loser.

I can tell that I have learnt so much in the past year. If in the future I look back, I am not going to wondering why the hell I was wasting my time. No.. I am not wasting my time, for sure. They say working can give you experiences that school never can. They are right. Not only the substance of the work itself, but witnessing how people manage and with a multinational business everyday is also a valueable experience. I am glad I’ve taken the opportunity to work before I go back to school.

I am lucky that I have bosses who are not only incredibly smart but also very nice.

Most of the time I dealt only with my Argentinian boss (the American one is already busy with tons of other things). The best thing of my Argentinian boss is that he never turns his back on me. Yes, I messed up sometimes and yes he yelled at me (through emails), but in front of other people, he would take the fall instead of blame me. And if I did something right, he would mention it to other people that it was me who had done that. And when he taught me about something, he started from the very basic concept so I can understand the whole idea.

So, yeah, it broke my heart a little. And for some moments I had my doubts about my decision because not every day someone offers me “whatever you want, whatever you want”. But I know deep down that I’m making the right decision.

As I stated in my resignation letter “Thank you for the opportunity. I have learnt so much. I do hope our path cross in the future. Wish you and the team the best luck.". I mean every word in that letter.

Honeymoon by Amy Jenkins

Have you ever met someone whom you are instantly clicked with the first time you see him/her? Whenever you say something, no matter how weird or random the words are (even if you don’t fully finish the sentence), he never fail to understand you. And you, never fail to understand him too. You both like the same weird movie, band, or song which no one else like. And when you see him, you get this little pinch in your heart and it starts to beat faster. Call it chemistry, call it soulmate, name it whatever you want.

Then, have you ever met someone who maybe not fully understand you as your soulmate but he’s willing to be with you all the way no matter how hard it is. He is nothing but always be nice and patient and giving you so much love you think no one else can ever give more. Okay, so you might not feel that little pinch and your heart keeps its normal pace when you see him but you feel this secure feeling that you will never be alone. He might not your other half but he is definitely your guardian.

Meet Honey, a thirty years old woman who has doubts about her nice suitable man, Ed, while still carries torch for the man she spent one night with, 7 years ago, Alex. After the night the accidentally met and spent together with, altough they exchanged emails and phone numbers, somehow Honey didn’t get the letter that Alex sent, and Alex wasn’t around when Honey called. The fact that Honey lives in UK while Alex is in US didn’t make situation better.

So the story of that night stayed at the back of their minds and it became some sort of legend.

7 years on and Honey was proposed by her nice suitable so nice and kind man there’s nothing for it but to say “yes”. Just before the wedding, Honey’s sister, Ven, told her that she accidentally met Alex.

Now, if you don’t want further spoiler, please stop reading.

Still reading? Don’t tell me I've never warned you...

So finally, after 7 years the presence of Alex gets closer to reality. He’s no more just a fantasy man who only lives in Honey’s head. But she decided to not pursue that and walked down the aisle with Ed instead. And they went on honeymoon. Destination Mexico.

Can you guess?

By some incident they missed the plane to Mexico and went to L.A. instead. Oh, can you guess?

They stayed in a hotel there and turned up, Alex and his wife whom he just got married with, were in the next room. Suprise, surprise for both of them. Ed and Alex’s wife of course never heard about the story between them.

And the feeling between Honey and Alex started to blossom again.

“I haven’t felt like that for – I don’t know how long. I can’t even describe it. I felt – I felt that kind of oh-okay-now-I-get-it feeling”, Honey.

I’m not going to reveal the whole story to you. The story is interesting because it’s like the battle between passion and comfort. Like Honey said:

“I always knew and what I forgot – that I never felt passion for Ed. I never felt he was a dream come true, I never had that over-the-rainbow feeling they sell in the fairytales. And I’d thought that that was a good thing. I thought it was grown-up to give up on princes in shining armour – I scoffed at friends who rode the roller-coaster of joy and despair with their gloriously difficult boyfriends. But now I’d had taste of the magic again and I knew with certainty that I had been wrong to give up passion.”

The problem with Ed is this cliche thing: he is too nice and predictable and leaves no room for Honey to feel any bit of insecurity. “With Ed... I never, never didn’t know the answer, I always had something to say. It bored me! I bored myself... knowing it all. I hated always knowing it all”

“With Ed though, like I said, jealousy was never much of an issue. Ed always had this sweety crazy idea that he’d got lucky with me, like he couldn’t do any better. He’d still get furious with me, obviously, but his fundamental position was one of... well, dare I say of... gratiture. So I never thought about Ed looking at anyone else. I felt totally secure. Oh dear. Big sigh. No wonder it hadn’t worked out”

But you know, that passionate feeling can be deceiving. Personally, I don’t think with passion alone you can make the relationship works. You should mix some amount of logic in it somehow. And sometimes, we desperately want something simply because we don’t have it.

It’s like what Honey said about one day when she was 9 years old and her dad took her out to buy a new coat. There were two coats: a shaggy camel colour and a startling black and white ponyskin.

“I could tell my dad preffered the camel but I wanted the ponyskin. Wanted, wanted, wanted. The more my dad explained to me why the camel was the sensible choice, the more I wanted the ponyskin. Then, out of the blue, he capitulated – i could have the ponyskin. It was when he was paying for it that the first doubts set in. Now I’d got it, did I really want it? Would it be hard to wear? What would my friends say? It was like, now it was mine there was something wrong with it”

Summarizing, the book is nicely written by Amy Jenkins. It took me quite long to read the first half. This is typical chicklit which explains too many details of the character’s life to the point it’s almost boring. But the second half is very good. I flipped over the pages in no time.

One of my favorite lines is when Honey said, “It’s like I’m driving along and I have to make a detour – but the road still brings me back to you”

Can you guess who is the detour and who is the final destination?